Evenly distributing workload and providing a predictable failover scenario in a data replication system

ABSTRACT

A method for more effectively distributing the I/O workload in a data replication system is disclosed herein. In selected embodiments, such a method may include generating an I/O request and identifying a storage resource group associated with the I/O request. In the event the I/O request is associated with a first storage resource group, the I/O request may be directed to a first storage device and a copy of the I/O request may be mirrored from the first storage device to a second storage device. Alternatively, in the event the I/O request is associated with a second storage resource group, the I/O request may be directed to a second storage device and a copy of the I/O request may be mirrored from the second storage device to the first storage device. A corresponding system, apparatus, and computer program product are also disclosed and claimed herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to networking technology, and more particularlyto apparatus and methods for distributing the I/O workload in a datareplication system.

2. Background of the Invention

HyperSwap® is a feature of IBM's Geographically Dispersed ParallelSysplex (“GDPS”) technology that is used in Peer to Peer Remote Copy(“PPRC”) environments. By design, HyperSwap® enhances the resilience ofParallel Sysplex by facilitating the immediate switching of PPRC storagesystems. The current implementation of HyperSwap® directs all I/Orequests to a single storage system.

For example, FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a synchronous Peer-to-PeerRemote Copy (“PPRC”) system 100 (also known as a “Metro Mirror” system100) where the HyperSwap® feature may be implemented. In such aconfiguration, a host system 106 sends all I/O requests 108 to a primarystorage device 104 a. The I/O requests 108 may be executed on theprimary storage device 104 a (by reading or writing data on primaryvolumes 102 a). The primary storage device 104 a may mirror writerequests 110 to a secondary storage device 104 b. The secondary storagedevice 104 b may execute the write request 110 (by writing the data tosecondary volumes 102 b) and return a write acknowledge signal 112 tothe primary storage device 104 a when the write completes.

Once a write has been performed on both the primary and secondarystorage devices 104 a, 104 b, the primary storage device 104 a mayreturn a write acknowledge signal 114 to the host system 106. Thus, inthis “synchronous” configuration, the host system 106 waits for thewrite to be performed on both the primary and secondary storage devices104 a, 104 b before it receives an acknowledge signal 114. An I/O isconsidered complete when the I/O has successfully completed to both theprimary and secondary storage devices 104 a.

In the event the host system 106 is unable to communicate with theprimary storage device 104 a, the host system 106 may invoke theHyperSwap® feature to cause the host system 106 to directly communicatewith the secondary storage device 104 b. In essence, this will cause thesecondary storage device 104 b to become the new primary storage deviceand the primary storage device 104 a to become the new secondary storagedevice. This process of switching the primary and secondary storagedevices 104 a, 104 b may also be referred to as a “failover.”

Regardless of whether the host 106 communicates directly with theprimary storage device 104 s or the secondary storage device 104 b(thereby becoming the new primary storage device), the host system 106distributes the workload using an “all-or-nothing” approach. That is,the host system 106 will direct all I/O to either one storage device 104a or the other 104 b. Although effective, distributing the workload inthis manner may not be ideal.

In view of the foregoing, what is needed is an apparatus and method formore evenly distributing the workload between storage devices in a datareplication system (such as a PPRC environment). Ideally, such anapparatus and method would increase I/O performance, increasereliability, and provide a more predictable failover scenario.Beneficially, such an apparatus and method would provide continuous dataavailability and consistency in the event of a failure or disaster. Sucha system is disclosed and claimed herein.

SUMMARY

The invention has been developed in response to the present state of theart and, in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the artthat have not yet been fully solved by currently available apparatus andmethods. Accordingly, the invention has been developed to provideapparatus and methods for more evenly distributing the workload in adata replication system. The features and advantages of the inventionwill become more fully apparent from the following description andappended claims, or may be learned by practice of the invention as setforth hereinafter.

Consistent with the foregoing, a method for more effectivelydistributing the I/O workload in a data replication system is disclosedherein. In selected embodiments, such a method may include generating anI/O request and identifying a storage resource group associated with theI/O request. In the event the I/O request is associated with a firststorage resource group, the I/O request may be directed to a firststorage device and a copy of the I/O request may be mirrored from thefirst storage device to a second storage device. Alternatively, in theevent the I/O request is associated with a second storage resourcegroup, the I/O request may be directed to a second storage device and acopy of the I/O request may be mirrored from the second storage deviceto the first storage device. In this way, the I/O workload may be moreevenly distributed between the first and second storage devices.

A corresponding system, apparatus, and computer program product are alsodisclosed and claimed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the advantages of the invention will be readilyunderstood, a more particular description of the invention brieflydescribed above will be rendered by reference to specific embodimentsillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not thereforeto be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be describedand explained with additional specificity and detail through use of theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram showing one example of a prior artPPRC system;

FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram showing one non-limiting example ofa storage device in accordance with certain embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram showing various modules that may beused to more evenly distribute the I/O workload in a data replicationsystem;

FIG. 4 is a high-level block diagram of one embodiment of a system fordistributing the I/O workload;

FIG. 5 is a high-level block diagram of an alternative embodiment of asystem for distributing the I/O workload;

FIG. 6 is a high-level block diagram showing one failover scenario for adata replication system in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7 is a high-level block diagram showing another failover scenariofor a data replication system in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method fordistributing the I/O workload in a data replication system in accordancewith the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be readily understood that the components of the presentinvention, as generally described and illustrated in the Figures herein,could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of differentconfigurations. Thus, the following more detailed description of theembodiments of the invention, as represented in the Figures, is notintended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merelyrepresentative of certain examples of presently contemplated embodimentsin accordance with the invention. The presently described embodimentswill be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like partsare designated by like numerals throughout.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as an apparatus, system, method, or computer-programproduct. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of ahardware embodiment, a software embodiment (including firmware, residentsoftware, micro-code, etc.) configured to operate hardware, or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer-usable mediumembodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer-usableprogram code stored therein.

Any combination of one or more computer-usable or computer-readablemedium(s) may be utilized to store the computer program product. Thecomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (anon-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (“RAM”), aread-only memory (“ROM”), an erasable programmable read-only memory(“EPROM” or “Flash memory”), an optical fiber, a portable compact discread-only memory (“CD-ROM”), an optical storage device, or a magneticstorage device. In the context of this document, a computer-usable orcomputer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, ortransport the program for use by or in connection with the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object-oriented programming language such asJava, Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. Computer program code for implementing theinvention may also be written in a low-level programming language suchas assembly language.

The present invention may be described below with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus, systems, andcomputer-usable mediums according to embodiments of the invention. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions or code. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purposecomputer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce amachine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, createmeans for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable medium that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/actsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

As used herein, the term “storage resource group” refers to a group ofone or more volumes, a group of one or more logical subsystems (“LSSs”),or other groups of data storage elements or resources. The term “logicalsubsystem” or “LSS” may be used to refer to groups of logical volumes orother resources. In certain embodiments, an LSS may contain up to acertain number (e.g., two hundred fifty-six) logical volumes.

Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of a conventional Peer-to-PeerRemote Copy (“PPRC”) system 100 (also known as a “Metro Mirror” system100) is shown. The PPRC system 100 is presented only by way of exampleto show an architecture on which embodiments of the invention mightoperate, and is not intended to be limiting. In general, the PPRC system100 establishes a mirroring relationship between one or more primaryvolumes 102 a and one or more secondary volumes 102 b. Once thisrelationship is established, the volumes 102 a, 102 b may be updatedsubstantially simultaneously. The primary and secondary volumes 102 a,102 b may be located on the same storage device 104, although thevolumes 102 a, 102 b are typically located on separate storage devices104 a, 104 b (i.e., primary and secondary storage devices 104 a, 104 b)located some distance (e.g., several miles to several hundreds of miles)from one another. Channel extension equipment may be located between thestorage devices 104 a, 104 b, as needed, to extend the distance overwhich the storage devices 104 a, 104 b may communicate.

The PPRC system 100 may, in certain embodiments, be configured tooperate in a synchronous manner. In this configuration, an I/O may beconsidered complete when the I/O has successfully completed to both theprimary and secondary storage devices 104 a, 104 b. As an example, insuch a configuration, a host system 106 may initially send a writerequest 108 to the primary storage device 104 a. This write operation108 may be performed on the primary storage device 104 a and the primarystorage device 104 a may, in turn, transmit a write request 110 to thesecondary storage device 104 b. The secondary storage device 104 b mayexecute the write operation 110 and return a write acknowledge signal112 to the primary storage device 104 a. Once the write has beenperformed on both the primary and secondary storage devices 104 a, 104b, the primary storage device 104 a may return a write acknowledgesignal 114 to the host system 106.

Although the apparatus and methods disclosed herein will be discussedprimarily in association with synchronous PPRC, the apparatus andmethods may also be applicable, in various forms, to other analogousdata replication technologies. Furthermore, the apparatus and methodsare not limited to IBM applications, but may be applicable to anycomparable or analogous data replication technology regardless of themanufacturer, product name, or components or component names associatedwith the technology. Any data replication technology that could benefitfrom one or more embodiments of the invention is deemed to fall withinthe scope of the invention. Thus, synchronous PPRC is presented by wayof example and is not intended to be limiting.

Referring to FIG. 2, one embodiment of a storage device 104 (such as theprimary or secondary storage device 104 a, 104 b) for use withembodiments of the invention is illustrated. This storage device 104 isprovided only by way of example and is not intended to be limiting. Inthis example, the storage device 104 contains an array of hard-diskdrives 204 and/or solid-state drives 204. As shown, the storage device104 includes a storage controller 200, one or more switches 202, andstorage media 204 such as hard-disk drives 204 or solid-state drives204. The storage controller 200 may enable one or more hosts 106 (e.g.,open system and/or mainframe servers 106) or storage devices 104 toaccess data in the storage media 204.

In selected embodiments, the storage controller 200 includes one or moreservers 206. The storage controller 200 may also include host adapters220 to connect to host devices 106 and storage devices 104. The storagecontroller 200 may also include device adapters 210 to connect to thestorage media 204. Multiple servers 206 a, 206 b may provide redundancyto ensure that data is always available to connected hosts. Thus, whenone server 206 a fails, the other server 206 b may remain functional toensure that I/O is able to continue between the hosts 106 and thestorage media 204. This process may be referred to as a “failover.” Oneexample of a storage device 104 having an architecture similar to thatillustrated in FIG. 2 is the IBM DS8000™ enterprise storage system.

Nevertheless, embodiments of the invention are not limited to beingimplemented with the IBM DS8000™ enterprise storage system, but may beimplemented in any comparable or analogous storage system 104,regardless of the manufacturer, product name, or components or componentnames associated with the system. Furthermore, any system 104 that couldbenefit from one or more embodiments of the invention is deemed to fallwithin the scope of the invention. Thus, the IBM DS8000™ is presentedonly by way of example and not limitation.

In selected embodiments, each server 206 may include one or moreprocessors 212 (e.g., n-way symmetric multiprocessors) and memory 214.The memory 214 may include volatile memory (e.g., RAM) as well asnon-volatile memory (e.g., ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, hard disks, flash memory,etc.). The memory 214 may store software modules that run on theprocessor(s) 212 and are used to access data in the storage media 204.The servers 206 may host at least one instance of these softwaremodules, which collectively may also be referred to as a “server,”albeit in software form. These software modules may manage all read andwrite requests to logical volumes in the storage media 204.

In certain embodiments, the memory 214 may also store a mirroring module218 to implement the PPRC functionality described herein. To providethis PPRC functionality, the mirroring module 218 may intercept writerequests (and associated data) that are sent from the host system 106 tothe storage device 104. In addition to executing the write request onthe storage device 104, the mirroring module 218 may send the writerequest and associated data to another storage device 104 b, asdiscussed in more detail below.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a system 300 for more evenly distributing theI/O workload in a data replication system in accordance with theinvention is illustrated. In selected embodiments, such a system 300 mayinclude a generation module 302, an identification module 304, and arouting module 306, among other modules. The system 300 may also includemirroring modules 218 in each of the storage devices 104 a, 104 b, aswill be discussed in more detail below.

In certain embodiments, the generation module 302, identification module304 and routing module 306 may be embodied within the host device 106.The generation module 302 may be configured to generate an I/O request,such as a write request, that corresponds to a particular storageresource group (such as an LSS group or group of volumes). Theidentification module 304 may identify the storage resource group thatis associated with the I/O request.

Once the storage resource group that is associated with the I/O requesthas been identified, the routing module 306 may direct the I/O requestto the storage device 104 that is associated with the storage resourcegroup. More specifically, in certain embodiments, a first storage device104 a may be associated with a first storage resource group (i.e.,“Resource Group 1”). A second storage device 104 b may be associatedwith a second resource group (i.e., “Resource Group 2”). If theidentification module 304 determines that the I/O request corresponds tothe first storage resource group, the routing module 306 may route therequest to the first storage device 104 a. Alternatively, if theidentification module 304 determines that the I/O request corresponds tothe second storage resource group, the routing module 306 may route therequest to the second storage device 104 b.

In other words, the host device 106 (via the routing module 306) may beconfigured to send I/O requests associated with a particular storageresource group to a particular storage device 104, as opposed to routingall I/O request to a single storage device 104 in the PPRC system. Inthis manner, embodiments of the invention may more evenly distribute theI/O workload among storage devices 104 connected to a particular hostdevice 106. This will cause each storage device 104 a, 104 b to act asboth a source and target for data mirroring purposes. As will becomemore evident from the discussion below, this configuration may increaseI/O performance and reliability.

In certain embodiments, each storage device 104 may contain multipleservers 206, such as where each storage device 104 a, 104 b is an IBMDS8000™ enterprise storage system. In such embodiments, one server 206 ain the storage device 104 may act as a source in a PPRC relationship,and the other server 206 b may act as the target in a PPRC relationship.This configuration will be illustrated in more detail in associationwith FIGS. 4 and 5. In such embodiments, each server 104 a may include amirroring module 218 to intercept write requests and mirror them to aserver 206 in the other storage device 104.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in selected embodiments, a host device 106 maydirect I/O traffic associated with a first storage resource group to afirst storage device 104 a, and direct I/O traffic associated with asecond storage resource group to a second storage device 104 b. Asshown, the first storage resource group may include I/O trafficassociated with a first LSS group (“LSS Group 1”), while the secondstorage resource group may include I/O traffic associated with a secondLSS group (“LSS Group 2”).

In operation, the host device 106 may generate an I/O request associatedwith one of the two LSS groups. The identification module 304 mayidentify the particular LSS group associated with the I/O request. Therouting module 306 may utilize this information to direct the I/Orequest to the appropriate storage device 104. That is, if the I/Orequest is associated with the first LSS group, the routing module 306will direct the I/O request to the first storage device 104 a.Conversely, if the I/O request is associated with the second LSS group,the routing module 306 will direct the I/O request to the second storagedevice 104 b.

In the illustrated embodiment, each of the storage devices 104 a, 104 bincludes multiple servers 206. In this example, Server 1 206 a in thefirst storage device 104 a may receive and execute write requests forLSS Group 1 and mirror the write requests to Server 1 206 c in thesecond storage device 104 b. Similarly, Server 2 206 d in the secondstorage device 104 b may receive and execute write requests for LSSGroup 2 and mirror the write requests to Server 2 206 b in the firststorage device 104 a. In this way, each server 206 in a storage device104 is configured to handle I/O traffic for a different LSS group. Inother embodiments, the I/O traffic from a particular LSS group may notbe limited to a particular server 206, but may be distributed acrossboth servers 206 in a storage device 104.

Referring now to FIG. 5, in another embodiment, the host device 106 maybe configured to direct I/O traffic based on a group of volumesassociated with the I/O, rather than an LSS group associated with theI/O. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a host device 106 may direct I/Orequests associated with a first group of volumes (“Group A Volumes”) toa first storage device 104 a, and direct I/O requests associated with asecond group of volumes (“Group B Volumes”) to a second storage device104 b.

In operation, the host device 106 may generate an I/O request associatedwith one of the two groups of volumes. The identification module 304 maythen identify the particular group of volumes associated with the I/Orequest. The routing module 306 may utilize this information to directthe I/O request to the appropriate storage device 104. That is, if theI/O request is associated with the first group of volumes, the routingmodule 306 will direct the I/O request to the first storage device 104a. Conversely, if the I/O request is associated with the second group ofvolumes, the routing module 306 will direct the I/O request to thesecond storage device 104 b.

Like the previous example, each of the storage devices 104 a, 104 bincludes multiple servers 206. In this example, Server 1 206 a in thefirst storage device 104 a may receive and execute write requests forGroup A Volumes and mirror the write requests to Server 1 206 c in thesecond storage device 104 b. Similarly, Server 2 206 d in the secondstorage device 104 b may receive and execute write requests for Group BVolumes and mirror the write requests to Server 2 206 b in the firststorage device 104 a. In this way, each server 206 in a storage device104 is configured to handle I/O traffic for a different group ofvolumes.

In other embodiments, the I/O traffic from a particular group of volumesmay not be limited to a particular server but may be distributed acrossboth servers 206 in the storage device 104. For example, certainrequests associated with Group A Volumes may be routed to a server 206 a(“Server 1”) of the first storage device 104 a and mirrored to a server206 c (“Server 1”) of the second storage device 104 b, while otherrequests associated with Group A Volumes may be routed to the otherserver 206 b (“Server 2”) of the first storage device 104 a and mirroredto the other server 206 d (“Server 2”) of the second storage device 104b. Likewise, I/O requests associated with Group B Volumes may beexecuted by either server 206 c, 206 d in the second storage device 104b and mirrored to the corresponding server 206 a, 206 b in the firststorage device 104 a.

Referring now to FIG. 6, one benefit of the configuration illustrated inFIGS. 3 through 6 is that it may lead to more predictable failoverscenarios. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, a first type of failoverscenario may occur if communication is lost between the host device 106and the first storage device 104 a. The dotted lines show thecommunication paths that would be at least temporarily eliminated as aresult of such a loss of communication.

In conventional PPRC environments (as shown in FIG. 1), such a loss ofcommunication would likely cause the host system 106 to invoke theHyperSwap® feature, thereby causing the host system 106 to directlycommunicate with the second storage device 104 b. This would cause thesecond storage device 104 b to become the new primary storage device andthe first storage device 104 a to become the secondary storage device.This scenario would cause all of the I/O to be redirected from the hostdevice 106 to the second storage device 104 b.

In the illustrated embodiment, however, only half of the I/O may beredirected as a result of the same loss of communication. That is, theI/O associated with Resource Group 1 may be redirected to the secondstorage device 104 b. Server 1 206 c in the second storage device 104 bmay then mirror the I/O to Server 1 206 a in the first storage device104 a. In effect, this would reverse the roles of Server 1 in bothstorage devices 104 a, 104 b, rendering Server 1 206 c in the secondstorage device 104 b the source, and Server 1 206 a in the first storagedevice 104 a the target. On the other hand, communication between Server2 206 d in the second storage device 104 and Server 2 206 b in the firststorage device 104 a may remain the same. Thus, in this failoverscenario, only half of the I/O may be redirected.

FIG. 7 illustrates a second type of failover scenario wherein a server206 a in the first storage device 104 a fails, or otherwise ceases tofunction. The dotted lines show the server 206 a that has failed, aswell as the communication link that is eliminated as a result of thefailure.

In a conventional PPRC environment (shown in FIG. 1), such a failurewould likely cause the host system 106 to invoke the HyperSwap® featureand thereby directly communicate with the second storage device 104 b.Like the previous example, this would cause the second storage device104 b to become the new primary storage device and the first storagedevice 104 a to become the new secondary storage device. The newsecondary storage device 104 a would then function in a degraded manner,since one of the servers would be non-functional. This scenario, likethe previous scenario, would also cause all of the I/O to be redirected.

In the illustrated embodiment, however, the system may continue tofunction without redirecting the I/O. In other words, the host 106 maynot necessarily need to redirect I/O to the second storage device 104 bin the event the server 206 a fails. For example, in the event Server 1206 a in the first storage device 104 a fails, I/O associated withResource Group 1 may be handled by Server 2 206 b in the first storagedevice 104 a. This server 206 b may then mirror I/O for Resource Group 1to Server 1 206 c in the second storage device 104 b. At the same time,Server 1 206 a in the first storage device 104 a may also be the targetfor I/O associated with Resource Group 2. Thus, Server 2 206 b in thefirst storage device 104 a may act as both a source and a target. Inthis way, the first and second storage devices 104 a, 104 b may continueto operate in the conventional manner (without invoking the Hyperswap®feature), even though the first storage device 104 a may function in adegraded manner (by having only one operable server 206 b). This mayeliminate the need for the host device 106 to invoke the Hyperswap®feature in the event a single server 206 a fails.

Referring now to FIG. 8, one embodiment of a method 800 for distributingthe I/O workload in a data replication system is illustrated. In certainembodiments, such a method 800 may include initially determining 802whether an I/O request has been generated. If an I/O request has beengenerated, the method 800 may determine 804 which storage resource group(e.g., LSS group or group of volumes) is associated with the I/Orequest. If the I/O request is associated 804 with a first storageresource group, the method 800 may direct 806 the I/O request to a firststorage device 104 a. The I/O request may then be mirrored 808 from thefirst storage device 104 a to a second storage device 104 b.

If, on the other hand, the I/O request is associated 810 with a secondstorage resource group, the method 800 may direct 812 the I/O request tothe second storage device 104 b. The I/O request may then be mirrored814 from the second storage device 104 b to the first storage device 104a. The method 800 may continue by waiting 802 for the next I/O requestand repeating the steps previously described.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer-usable media according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for distributing load in adata replication system comprising a first storage device and a secondstorage device, the apparatus comprising: a processor; a generationmodule to generate an I/O request for processing in one of a firststorage resource group and a second storage resource group; a routingmodule to direct the I/O request to the first storage device in theevent the I/O request is to be processed in the first storage resourcegroup, and to direct the I/O request to the second storage device in theevent the I/O request is to be processed in the second storage resourcegroup; a first mirroring module associated with the first storage deviceto mirror a copy of the I/O request to the second storage device in theevent the I/O request is directed to the first storage device; and asecond mirroring module associated with the second storage device tomirror a copy of the I/O request to the first storage device in theevent the I/O request is directed to the second storage device; therouting module further configured to, in the event the I/O request is tobe processed in the first storage resource group but communication withthe first storage device fails, redirect the I/O request to the secondstorage device: and the routing module further configured to, in theevent the I/O request is to be processed in the second storage resourcegroup but communication with the second storage device fails, redirectthe I/O request to the first storage device.
 2. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the first storage resource group comprises a first logicalsubsystem (“LSS”) group and the second storage resource group comprisesa second logical subsystem (“LSS”) group.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first storage resource group comprises a first group oflogical volumes and the second storage resource group comprises a secondgroup of logical volumes.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: thefirst mirroring module mirrors the I/O request from a first server inthe first storage device to a first server in the second storage device,wherein the first servers are associated with the first storage resourcegroup; and the second mirroring module mirrors the I/O request from asecond server in the second storage device to a second server in thefirst storage device, wherein the second servers are associated with thesecond storage resource group.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein eachof the first storage resource group and the second storage resourcegroup contains an equal number of resources.
 6. A system fordistributing a load in a data replication environment, the systemcomprising: first and second storage devices; a host device configuredto generate an I/O request for processing in one of a first storageresource group and a second storage resource group; the host devicefurther configured to direct the I/O request to the first storage devicein the event the I/O request is to be processed in the first storageresource group, and direct the I/O request to the second storage devicein the event the I/O request is to be processed in the second storageresource group; the first storage device configured to mirror a copy ofthe I/O request to the second storage device in the event the I/Orequest is directed to the first storage device; and the second storagedevice configured to mirror a copy of the I/O request to the firststorage device in the event the I/O request is directed to the secondstorage device; the host device further configured to, in the event theI/O request is to be processed in the first storage resource group butcommunication with the first storage device fails, redirect the I/Orequest to the second storage device; and the host device furtherconfigured to, in the event the I/O request is to be processed in thesecond storage resource group but communication with the second storagedevice fails redirect the I/O request to the first storage device. 7.The system of claim 6, wherein the first storage resource groupcomprises a first logical subsystem (“LSS”) group and the second storageresource group comprises a second logical subsystem (“LSS”) group. 8.The system of claim 6, wherein the first storage resource groupcomprises a first group of logical volumes and the second storageresource group comprises a second group of logical volumes.
 9. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein: the first storage device mirrors the I/Orequest from a first server in the first storage device to a firstserver in the second storage device, wherein the first servers areassociated with the first storage resource group; and the second storagedevice mirrors the I/O request from a second server in the secondstorage device to a second server in the first storage device, whereinthe second servers are associated with the second storage resourcegroup.
 10. A computer program product for distributing a load in a datareplication system comprising a first storage device and a secondstorage device, the computer program product comprising a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having computer-usable program code embodiedtherein, the computer-usable program code comprising: computer-usableprogram code to generate an I/O request for processing in one of a firststorage resource group and a second storage resource group;computer-usable program code to direct the I/O request to the firststorage device and mirror a copy of the I/O request to the secondstorage device in the event the I/O request is to be processed in thefirst storage resource group; computer-usable program code to direct theI/O request to the second storage device and mirror a copy of the I/Orequest to the first storage device in the event the I/O request is tobe processed in the second storage resource group; computer-usableprogram code to, in the event the I/O request is to be processed in thefirst storage resource group but communication with the first storagedevice fails, redirect the I/O request to the second storage device; andcomputer-usable program code to, in the event the I/O request is to beprocessed in the second storage resource group but communication withthe second storage device fails redirect the I/O request to the firststorage device.
 11. The computer program product of claim 10, whereinthe first storage resource group comprises a first logical subsystem(“LSS”) group and the second storage resource group comprises a secondlogical subsystem (“LSS”) group.
 12. The computer program product ofclaim 10, wherein the first storage resource group comprises a firstgroup of logical volumes and the second storage resource group comprisesa second group of logical volumes.